To Rechared, King of the Visigoths8282 Reccared, the Visigoth king of Spain, previously an Arian, had declared himself a
Catholic a.d. 587, and had formally adopted
Catholicism as the creed of the Spanish Church at the council of
Toledo, a.d. 589. See I. 43, note
9. This is the only extant letter addressed to the king himself
by Gregory, its date, if rightly placed, being a.d. 598–9, and thus as much as ten years after the
council of Toledo. Gregory had been long informed of what had
been done at Toledo, as appears in his epistle to Leander (I. 43),
written, if correctly placed, a.d.
590–1; and it may appear strange that his letter to the king
himself had been so long delayed. He may have waited for a letter
to himself from Reccared; and, if Ep. LXI. in this book (see note
thereon) be genuine, it would be in reply to it that the letter before
us was written. But in Ep. LXI. only three years are said to have
elapsed since Reccared’s conversion, and gifts spoken of sent at
that time to Rome are acknowledged in the Epistle before us.
Hence the dates assigned to the Epistles by the Benedictine Editors are
open to suspicion..

Gregory to Rechared, &c.

I cannot express in words, most excellent son, how
much I am delighted with thy work and thy life. For on hearing of
the power of a new miracle in our days, to wit that the whole nation of
the Goths has through thy Excellency been brought over from the error
of Arian heresy to the firmness of a right faith, one is disposed to
exclaim with the prophet, This is the change wrought by the right
hand of the Most High (Ps. lxxvi. 118383 In English Bible, lxxvii. 10, differently.). For
whose breast, even though stony, would not, on hearing of so great a
work, soften in praises of Almighty God and love of thy
Excellency? As for me, I declare that it delights me often to
tell these things that have been done through you to my sons who resort
to me and often together with them to admire. These things also
for the most part stir me up against myself, in that I languish
sluggish and unprofitable in listless ease, while kings are labouring
in the gathering together of souls for the gains of the heavenly
country. What then shall I say to the coming Judge in that
tremendous assize, if I shall then come thither empty, where thy
Excellency shall bring after thee flocks of faithful ones, whom thou
hast now drawn to the grace of a true faith by assiduous and continual
preaching? But this, good man, by the gift of God, affords me
great comfort, that the holy work which I have not in myself I love in
thee. And, when I rejoice with great exultation for thy doings,
the results of thy labour become mine through charity. With
regard, therefore, to the conversion of the Goths, both for your work
and for our exultation, we may well exclaim with the angels, Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of goodwill
(Luk. ii. 14). For we, as I
think, owe the more thanks to Almighty God for that, although we have
done nothing with you, we are nevertheless partakers in your work by
rejoicing with you. Further, how gladly the blessed Peter, Prince
of the Apostles, has accepted the gifts of your Excellency your very
life witnesses evidently to all. For it is written, The vows
of the righteous are his delight (Prov. xv. 8). For indeed in the judgment of
Almighty God it is not what is given, but by whom it is given, that is
regarded.

For hence it is that it is written, The Lord
had respect unto Abel and to his gifts, but unto Cain and to his gifts
he had not respect (Gen. iv. 4, 5). To wit, being about to say that
the Lord had respect to the gifts, he was careful to premise that He
had respect unto Abel. Thus it is plainly shewn that the offerer
was not acceptable by reason of the gifts, but the gifts were so by
reason of the offerer. You shew, therefore, how acceptable your
offering is, seeing that, being about to give gold, you have first
given gifts of souls by the conversion of the nation subject to
you.

With regard to your telling us that the abbots who were sent to us to bring your offering to the blessed Apostle Peter had
been wearied by the violence of the sea and returned to Spain without
accomplishing their voyage8484 See IX. 61., your gifts were
not kept back, for they reached us afterwards; but the constancy of
those who had been sent has been tried, as to whether they knew how
with holy desire to overcome dangers in their way, and, though fatigued
in body, by no means to be wearied in mind. For adversity which
comes in the way of good purposes is a trial of virtue, not a judgment
of reprobation. For who can be ignorant how prosperous an event
it was that the blessed Apostle Paul came to Italy to preach, and yet
in coming suffered shipwreck? But the ship of the heart stood
unharmed among the billows of the sea.

Furthermore, I must tell you that I have been led
to praise God the more for your work by what I have learnt from the
report of my most beloved son Probinus the presbyter; namely that, your
Excellency having issued a certain ordinance against the perfidy of the
Jews, those to whom it related attempted to bend the rectitude of your
mind by offering a sum of money; which your Excellency scorned, and,
seeking to satisfy the judgment of Almighty God, preferred innocence to
gold. With regard to this what was done by King David recurs to
my mind, who, when the longed for water from the cistern of Bethlehem,
which was wedged in by the enemy, had been brought him by obedient
soldiers, said, God forbid that I should drink the blood of
righteous men (1 Chron. xi. 19). And,
because he 36poured it out and
would not drink it, it is written, He offered it a libation to the
Lord. If, then, water was scorned by the armed king, and
turned into a sacrifice to God, we may estimate what manner of
sacrifice to Almighty God has been offered by the king who for His love
has scorned to receive, not water, but gold. Wherefore, most
excellent son, I will confidently say that thou hast offered as a
libation to the Lord the gold which thou wouldest not have in
opposition to Him. These are great things, and redound to the
praise of Almighty God.

But in the midst of all these things we must guard
with vigilant attention against the snares of the ancient foe, who, the
greater gifts he sees among men, with the more subtle snares seeks to
take them away. For robbers too do not look out for empty
travellers to seize them on their road, but such as carry vessels of
gold and silver. For indeed the present life is a road. And
every one must needs be the more on his guard against ambushed spirits
in proportion as the gifts are greater which he carries. It is
the duty, then, of your Excellency, with regard to this so great gift
which you have received in the conversion of the nation subject to you,
to keep with all your might, first humility of heart, and secondly
cleanness of body. For where it is written, Every one that
exalteth himself shall be humbled, and he that humbleth himself shall
be exalted (Luke xiv. 11; xviii. 14), it is assuredly evident that he truly loves what is lofty who does not cut
off his soul from the root of humility. For often the malignant
spirit, in order to destroy the good that previously he had not power
to oppose, comes into the mind of the worker after accomplishment of
his work, and agitates it with silent thoughts of self-praise, so that
the deluded mind admires itself for the great things that it has
done. And, being exalted in its own sight through hidden tumour,
it is deprived of the grace of Him Who bestowed the gift. For
hence it is that it is said through the voice of the prophet to the
soul that waxes proud, Having trust in thy beauty thou playedst the
harlot because of thy renown (Ezek. xvi. 15). For indeed a soul’s
having trust in its beauty is its presuming within itself on its
righteous doings. And it plays the harlot because of its renown,
when in what it has done aright it desires not the praise of its Maker
to be spread abroad, but seeks the glory of its own reputation.
Hence again it is written through the prophet, In that thou art more
beautiful, go down (Ezek. xxxii. 19). For the soul goes down
because of being more beautiful when, owing to the comeliness of virtue
whereby it ought to have been exalted before God, it falls from His
grace through elation. What then is to be done in this case but
that, when the malignant spirit employs the good things that we have
done to exalt the mind, we should ever recall to memory our evil deeds,
to the end that we may acknowledge that what we have done sinfully is
our own, but that it is of the gift of Almighty God alone when we avoid
sins. Cleanness also of body is to be guarded in our strivings
after well-doing, since, according to the voice of the apostolic
preacher, The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are
(1 Cor. iii. 17). And again he
says, For this is the will of God, even your sanctification
(1 Thess. iv. 3). As to which
sanctification, what he means by it he shews by straightway adding,
That ye should abstain from fornication, that every one of you
should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour, not
in the lusts of concupiscence.

The very government also of your kingdom in
relation to your subjects ought to be tempered with moderation, lest
power steal upon your mind. For a kingdom is ruled well when the
glory of reigning does not dominate the disposition. Care also is
to be taken that wrath creep not in, lest whatever is lawful to be done
be done too hastily. For wrath, even when it prosecutes the
faults of delinquents, ought not to go before the mind as a mistress,
but attend as a handmaid behind the back of reason, that it may come to
the front when bidden. For, if once it begins to have possession
of the mind, it accounts as just what it does cruelly. For hence
it is written, The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of
God (Jam. i. 20). Hence again
it is said, Let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak, and
slow to wrath (Ib. 19). However I doubt not that under
the guidance of God you observe all these things. Still, now that
an opportunity of admonition has arisen, I join myself furtively to
your good deeds, so that what you do though not admonished you may not
do alone, having an admonisher to boot. Now may Almighty God
protect you in all your doings by the stretching out of His heavenly
arm, and grant you prosperity in the present life, and after a course
of many years eternal joys.

We have sent you a small key from the most sacred body
of the blessed apostle Peter to convey his blessing, containing iron
from his chains, that what had bound his neck for martyrdom may loose
yours from all sins. We have given also to the bearer of these
presents, to be offered to you, a cross in which there is some of the
wood of the Lord’s cross, and hairs of the blessed John the
Baptist, from 37which you may ever
have the succour of our Saviour through the intercession of His
forerunner.

Moreover we have sent to our most reverend brother and fellow-bishop Leander a pallium from the See of the blessed Apostle
Peter, which we owe both to ancient custom, and to your character, and
to his goodness and gravity8585 What follows is
preceded by “Item in anagnostico.” (The word is thus
explained in D’Arnis’ Lexicon Manuale;
“Græcis id omne est quod legitur aut recitatur.
Unde Gregorius Magnus pro epistola aut quovis scripto vocem hanc
usurpat.”) The whole is absent from many mss., and in one of those preserved in Bibliotheca
Colbertina it is given, without the heading Item in
anognostico, as a separate epistle, entitled “Secunda ad
Recharedum,” and concludes thus: “Furthermore we have
received the gifts of your Excellency, which have been sent for the
poor of the blessed apostle Peter, namely three hundred
cocullæ (cowls): and, as much as we can, we
earnestly pray that you may have as your protector in the tremendous
day of judgment Him whose poor you have protected by abundance of
clothes. Our not sending at once a man of ours to your Excellency
has been owing to the want of a ship: for none can be found that
can proceed from these parts to the shores of Spain.” The
fact of a second key containing filings of St. Peter’s chains
being referred to as sent to Reccared in this concluding portion of the
epistle confirms the probability of its having been part of a
subsequent letter. For two such keys were not likely to be sent
at the same time..

—————————————

A long time ago, when a certain Neapolitan youth came
hither, your to me most sweet Excellency had thought fit to charge me
to write to the most pious Emperor to the end that he might search in
the record office for the treaties that had formerly been concluded
with the prince Justinian of pious memory as to the claims of your
kingdom, so as to gather from them what he should observe with regard
to you. But there were two things seriously in the way of my
doing this. One was that the record-office in the time of the
aforesaid prince Justinian of pious memory had been so burnt by a fire
which had crept in suddenly that hardly any paper of his times
remained. The other was that, as no one need be told, thou
oughtest to look in thy own archives for the documents that are against
thee, and produce these instead of my doing so. Wherefore I
exhort your Excellency to arrange matters suitably to your character,
and carefully to carry out whatever makes for peace, that the times of
your reign may be memorable with great praise through many courses of
years. Furthermore, we have sent you another key from the most
sacred body of the blessed apostle Peter, which, being laid up with due
honour, may multiply with blessing whatever it may find you
enjoying.

82 Reccared, the Visigoth king of Spain, previously an Arian, had declared himself a
Catholic a.d. 587, and had formally adopted
Catholicism as the creed of the Spanish Church at the council of
Toledo, a.d. 589. See I. 43, note
9. This is the only extant letter addressed to the king himself
by Gregory, its date, if rightly placed, being a.d. 598–9, and thus as much as ten years after the
council of Toledo. Gregory had been long informed of what had
been done at Toledo, as appears in his epistle to Leander (I. 43),
written, if correctly placed, a.d.
590–1; and it may appear strange that his letter to the king
himself had been so long delayed. He may have waited for a letter
to himself from Reccared; and, if Ep. LXI. in this book (see note
thereon) be genuine, it would be in reply to it that the letter before
us was written. But in Ep. LXI. only three years are said to have
elapsed since Reccared’s conversion, and gifts spoken of sent at
that time to Rome are acknowledged in the Epistle before us.
Hence the dates assigned to the Epistles by the Benedictine Editors are
open to suspicion.

85 What follows is
preceded by “Item in anagnostico.” (The word is thus
explained in D’Arnis’ Lexicon Manuale;
“Græcis id omne est quod legitur aut recitatur.
Unde Gregorius Magnus pro epistola aut quovis scripto vocem hanc
usurpat.”) The whole is absent from many mss., and in one of those preserved in Bibliotheca
Colbertina it is given, without the heading Item in
anognostico, as a separate epistle, entitled “Secunda ad
Recharedum,” and concludes thus: “Furthermore we have
received the gifts of your Excellency, which have been sent for the
poor of the blessed apostle Peter, namely three hundred
cocullæ (cowls): and, as much as we can, we
earnestly pray that you may have as your protector in the tremendous
day of judgment Him whose poor you have protected by abundance of
clothes. Our not sending at once a man of ours to your Excellency
has been owing to the want of a ship: for none can be found that
can proceed from these parts to the shores of Spain.” The
fact of a second key containing filings of St. Peter’s chains
being referred to as sent to Reccared in this concluding portion of the
epistle confirms the probability of its having been part of a
subsequent letter. For two such keys were not likely to be sent
at the same time.